Conference to highlight urban agriculture and business opportunities in Southern Nevada

For Immediate Release: April 11, 2013

LAS VEGAS – In the heart of earth month and just two days after the official “Earth Day” 2013, Las Vegas will host one of the largest and explicit indoor agriculture conferences the valley has yet to see.

The Desert Research Institute and DRI’s GreenPower program are collaborating with the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) as a supporter and sponsor for the all-day Indoor Agriculture Conference on Wednesday, April 24th from 8:30-5pm at the Historic 5th Street School in Downtown Las Vegas. The focal point is how to improve local food production and boost the state’s food supply in the desert through various types of indoor agriculture.

A myriad of business vendors, farmers, investors and industry professionals already on the forefront of working to solve water resource concerns in Southern Nevada, will be attending the expo. Some of the represented businesses include: Go Green Agriculture, Whole Foods Market, CropKing and Hydro Greens.

“Las Vegas is the place to bring businesses for urban agriculture and it’s exciting that DRI and GreenPower can be a sponsor of this conference and participate in these efforts,” said Amelia Gulling, GreenPower’s Program Administrator.

A group of expert panelists will also be discussing indoor agriculture in Southern Nevada at this conference including Dr. Navin Twarakavi, a Soil Scientist at DRI. Twarakavi is on the morning session of panelists from 10:30-11:25a.m. His research specifically examines how to develop and improve urban agriculture in the desert by reducing water and soil usage. During the panel session, he will be talking about the various cutting-edge technologies he’s working with such as aeroponics, hydroponics, and ecopods to make indoor farming possible.

“The need to produce fresh food here in Las Vegas is at an all-time high and its imperative for DRI to act as a catalyst for indoor agricultural production in Southern Nevada,” Twarakavi said. “It’s great to be a part of this.”

GreenPower’s presence at the conference will highlight to business and industry professionals how the program specifically works with Nevada’s k-12 children to inspire them to become the state’s future problem solvers.

“GreenPower is committed and works tirelessly to show our efforts on how we help Nevada’s students learn about sustainability and the hope is that one day these students can make a difference here in Nevada,” Gulling said. “This conference is just another effort to try to achieve this.”

This Indoor Agriculture Conference highlighting technologies to improve food production in Las Vegas kicks off just the week before Dr. Nina Fedoroff, a world-renowned plant geneticist will be recognized as DRI’s 26th Nevada Medalist. Dr. Fedoroff has worked in the field of DNA sequencing technology for nearly forty years and has been recognized with outstanding achievements in the field of life sciences and biotechnology throughout her career. DRI’s Nevada Medal Event begins in Reno Tuesday, April 30th and ends in Las Vegas Thursday, May 2.

About GreenPowerGreenPower is designed to promote and support the education of Nevada’s preK-12 students about environmental and climate topics by providing schools and educators free professional development, trainings, and workshops as well as grants, scholarships, and curriculum activities that meet state core standards. To “Like” GreenPower’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/#!/DRIgreenpower

About the Desert Research InstituteDRI, the nonprofit research campus of the Nevada System of Higher Education strives to be the world leader in environmental sciences through the application of knowledge and technologies to improve people’s lives throughout Nevada and the world.

About SeedstockSeedstock is a for profit social venture, which through the use of a variety of tools including the news and information hub, Seedstock.com, and live events, facilitates connections between investors, farmers, researchers, organization and entrepreneurs focused on the development of innovative products and methodologies that address the vital long-term challenges to sustainable agriculture.